4 Clever Tricks To Dramatically Increase Your Page Views

30.6.16

If you’re interested in building a blog that readers find inspiring and useful, creating a more engaging reader experience will enable y...

If you’re interested in building a blog that readers find inspiring and useful, creating a more engaging reader experience will enable you to boost your page views and increase your blog’s exposure. Implementing a few essential updates will help you grow your blog, and using these clever tricks will help increase your page views.

Navigational Prompts

The smallest things will make a big difference. Make sure your site is user-friendly and “sign posted” well so readers can navigate your blog comfortably. Curate a layout that is engaging and encourages readers to browse pages and explore the content. You might want to consider a complete overhaul of the site if you feel your current one is a little outdated but sometimes investing a little time in tweaking your existing theme can make all the difference to page views.

Make sure everything your reader would want to know about you and your blog can be found in an obvious place that is easily accessible. Guide people around your blog with prompts; pique their interest by showing them more of the content they would be curious about reading. Most readers visit your site through a specific post so it’s important to keep them there by providing obvious prompts to keep reading, whether that’s through navigational links in the side or top bar, or through related posts at the bottom of each page.

Use the top navigation bar to link to the most important pages: about, contact, categories, and provide a search bar. Sidebar space is prime blog real estate for displaying guides and any featured series, along with important information like ways readers can connect with you elsewhere.

Pinterest Images

Capitalising on Pinterest is a powerful way of increasing your blog’s page views. Creating a board (or several divided by topics) on your Pinterest page and pinning your relevant posts will enable your content to reach new audiences and increase the hits to your site.

Vertical images are incredibly popular on Pinterest but, like me, you might not like this type of photography or think they look so great on your blog. So if you’re not keen on changing the way you to take your photographs, there is an alternative: hidden Pinnable graphics. Create a template and use it to make individual graphics for each of your blog posts; hide these graphics in your blog post so when people go to pin your post they have the option of pinning a more appealing graphic.

Use this code to create hidden graphics:

The way to getting the most out of Pinterest is to use it regularly, aim to spend a little time each day - it doesn’t have to be for long - pinning and repining content from all over the web and other people’s boards. For more tips on using Pinterest to boost traffic, read this post: How To Use Pinterest.

Remove Content

This might seem strange but hear me out. If you’ve changed direction with the content you used to create, your blog’s niche is now very different from what it used to be, or you’re unhappy with some of the work you’ve previously done: delete posts.

Old content that is very different from what you’re writing about today can cause a decrease in page views as people “bounce” off the site once they realise your blog isn’t for them and the content is not what they’re looking for. Having a clearly defined niche for your blog is useful for gaining new subscribers; consider tidying up your site by deleting stagnant old posts that no longer fit in with the look and feel of your blog’s style and overall content.

You’ve got to be careful with this process, you don’t want to delete posts that drive a lot of traffic to your blog. Only delete irrelevant content and when considering whether to delete a post, use Google Analytics to make certain it’s not a super popular post that drives a lot of traffic to your site. If you’re unsure, updating is a less drastic yet more time intensive option that can help increase page views; retake photographs, tweak the copy, and add links to more relevant content on your site where appropriate.

Custom 404 Page

Not having a custom 404 page means readers will hit a dead-end when trying to find content that doesn’t exist or has been long since removed. Creating a 404 page allows you to highlight the steps readers can take to find the content they need or direct them to new pages. Use the 404 page to highlight and direct readers to your most popular posts, provide a link to your frequently asked questions, and suggest ways for them to find the content they’re looking for.

Shamefully I didn’t have a custom 404 page until very recently and while I’m still tweaking my own to make it more useful I’ve already noticed a decrease in my bounce rate since implementing one. I’d definitely recommend setting up a basic custom 404 as soon as possible; include at the very least a link to your about page, a list of the most popular posts, and answers (or a link) to frequently asked questions plus any series you think readers would be interested in.

Creator + Designer at Oh My Clumsy Heart · Plant Collector · Minimalist · Vegan · Blogger. Sophie is a designer, content strategist, and lifestyle blogger based in Birmingham, UK where she lives with her partner, Jack, their pets and an apartment full of plants.

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